Substance abuse program educates students at Dighton-Rehoboth H.S.

DIGHTON — Students at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School were entertained, and hopefully enlightened, by a Boston troupe of four actors who delivered a serious message about substance abuse.

“It was an unconventional approach to educate the kids,” said Kevin Braga, an assistant principal at D-R.

Braga said the “I’ll Never Do That!” skit by the group Improbable Players was sponsored by the Foundation for Alcohol Education.

The skit, he said, lasted more than an hour. There was also a subsequent question-and-answer period.

Braga said the issue of marijuana, now legal in Massachusetts for medicinal purposes, as a gateway to stronger drugs was raised by a student.

He says the respondent gave a “really good answer” referring to his personal history with pot and the fact that steady use of marijuana, in the actor’s view, leads to complacency and the ready acceptance of mediocrity in one’s life.

This was the third year the school, which has a student body of approximately 900, has hosted the substance abuse presentation. Braga said there was enough room for 750 students to attend Wednesday’s assembly.

Braga said the first guest speaker in 2012 was Chris Herren, a one-time NBA player and former heroin addict from Fall River, who during the past six years has spoken to groups about the dangers of addiction — including alcohol, prescription painkillers and crystal meth.

Taunton, meanwhile, has seen an explosion of heroin-related overdoses since the beginning of the year, including seven fatal overdoses.